Minimum wage up 6.2%

[norris9]

Postie Job: £11.32 per hour

-Not guaranteed to finish on time.
-Exhaustion.
-Dealing with unreasonable managers.
-Working with slow Posties or runners or irritants.
-No holiday allowed for most of December, can be difficult booking holiday in general.
-Have to work Saturdays.
-Work outside in all weathers.
-Have to drive (risk of having an accident).
-Have to walk a lot (risk of tripping over).
-Disciplinary processes when you mess up.

My past office job: £8.50 per hour.

-Guaranteed to finish on time.
-No exhaustion.
-Barely have to deal with any management.
-Don't work with colleagues.
-Holiday allowed whenever you want it.
-Don't work weekends.
-Work indoors in the warmth, access to toilets at all times, access to refreshments at all times.
-Worst accident you could have is spilling some tea.
-No chance of having a disciplinary as there was zero responsibility.


Not sure it's worth t he extra few quid an hour in terms of all the above, but living on £8.50 an hour ain't good, so kinda have to deal with all the extra hassle of being a Postie to get by.

[Woody Guthrie]

A job is like any other saleable asset, it's worth what the market decides it's worth.

If you can find 100,000 people willing to do what we do to a reasonable standard for £8.50 p/h then that's what it's worth.

As has been pointed out though if there are other easier options for making £8.50 p/h then it's unlikely that many would choose our job over sitting counting widgets in a warm factory so the minimum wage model in Royal Mail would only really work in a high unemployment/lack of jobs scenario.

Basically you pay pennies you get the very desperate or if there aren't enough of those you don't get anyone at all.

Staffing a business like ours with the very desperate might excite a few of the dumber managers but you're talking about massive problems with illiteracy, drug and alcohol dependancy, theft and dishonesty, attendance, violence at work and a whole host of issues that come with lowering the bar by making the job less attractive to the employment pool.

[Schiff]

A job is like any other saleable asset, it's worth what the market decides it's worth.

If you can find 100,000 people willing to do what we do to a reasonable standard for £8.50 p/h then that's what it's worth.

As has been pointed out though if there are other easier options for making £8.50 p/h then it's unlikely that many would choose our job over sitting counting widgets in a warm factory so the minimum wage model in Royal Mail would only really work in a high unemployment/lack of jobs scenario.

Basically you pay pennies you get the very desperate or if there aren't enough of those you don't get anyone at all.

Staffing a business like ours with the very desperate might excite a few of the dumber managers but you're talking about massive problems with illiteracy, drug and alcohol dependancy, theft and dishonesty, attendance, violence at work and a whole host of issues that come with lowering the bar by making the job less attractive to the employment pool.

Spot on. Most of our competitors operate on that minimum wage model (or using self-employed contractors) using those who are desperate. They have to suffer the associated problems but have significantly lower costs.

A series of large increases in minimum wage will take away their competetive advantage in terms of operating costs, but still leave them staffed by numpties.

[Tinoblade]

Probably fair the union go after a similar increase in that case. When is the next pay deal due?

I don't think we will be getting a rise if we're in dispute

[yellowbelly]

Probably fair the union go after a similar increase in that case. When is the next pay deal due?

I don't think we will be getting a rise if we're in dispute

If we do get a rise they'll want their pound of flesh in return.........

[blacov]

Probably fair the union go after a similar increase in that case. When is the next pay deal due?

I don't think we will be getting a rise if we're in dispute

If we do get a rise they'll want their pound of flesh in return.........

They gonna get it anyway as far as I can see but with a decent rise (doubt it) it will be a bit more bearable for us. I hope they will offer at least 2% to keep up with inflation level.

[postiewhite]

Minimum wage goes upto £8.72 in April, how much does a postie get including the suppliment, is it about £2.20 an hour more? Can anyone tell me if the gap is closing between our wage and the minimum wage over the last 15 years or so?

The £2.20 more per hour is justified though, its physically hard work especially when you are over 45. I dont envy those that are in their 20s and have to endure another 40 years of this job because its only going to get harder. Ive had shin splints last month which could well recur and and also a bad back. The job takes a massive toll on your knees and legs especially with the increased work load and mileage we walk. Im on a 30 hr contract and could probably work an extra hour a day in a minimum paid job for the same money without having to get soaked to the bone, slipping on ice, bullied by managers younger than myself and not feel like a number. Tempting but the right one has to come along

[30+YEARMAN]

Plenty of minimum wage jobs out there. Do try one!

Done a few, quite frankly getting paid £11 to pop a piece of paper through a door and push a button to go bip for a parcel is scandalously well paid.

I wish it was just a piece of paper.

[daveyeff]

Lets have a little break from your debate whether postmen are overpaid and how far £11 go in certain areas of UK and lets see how likely we are to get pay rise deal this year. I reckon a rise in the region of 6% is highly unlikely but at anything above CIP index (1.5%) would be fair enough. Hopefully our union or whoever is responsible to negotiate this will approve anything for us.

Tyneside metro drivers have just settled after 2 days of strike action. they've been awarded 18.5% to be paid by 2022, that's excluding their 'annual pay increase'. they are already on £38000. so if we get half of that I will be quite happy.

[Seymour Buts]

Lets have a little break from your debate whether postmen are overpaid and how far £11 go in certain areas of UK and lets see how likely we are to get pay rise deal this year. I reckon a rise in the region of 6% is highly unlikely but at anything above CIP index (1.5%) would be fair enough. Hopefully our union or whoever is responsible to negotiate this will approve anything for us.

Tyneside metro drivers have just settled after 2 days of strike action. they've been awarded 18.5% to be paid by 2022, that's excluding their 'annual pay increase'. they are already on £38000. so if we get half of that I will be quite happy.

Much like train and London underground drivers they have the ability to bring entire cities to a complete standstill, nobody else has that amount of leverage. Our leverage went with December in truth. The union should ask for 6.2, settle for half that.

[south London postie]

tbh, I'm not sure how RM listens to the union anyway. Wages increases will be at least as much a function of recruitment and retention.

Probably different around the country but they are definitely having trouble recruiting and retaining new people around here - society at pretty much maximum employment for people with adequate skills and fitness. Women in particular not sticking with it.

[blacov]

tbh, I'm not sure how RM listens to the union anyway. Wages increases will be at least as much a function of recruitment and retention.

Probably different around the country but they are definitely having trouble recruiting and retaining new people around here - society at pretty much maximum employment for people with adequate skills and fitness. Women in particular not sticking with it.

I am not far from you judging by your nick and I can confirm the newer a person is to our DO the more likely he is to leave. We have already a couple of women that left in 2019. I am really hoping we get at least 2% this April otherwise in a year or two we will be working for a minimum wage anyway.

[Grumpyoldmailman]

Women in particular not sticking with it.

That will be because when they advertise it sound really good for dropping the kids off and being done for picking them up again. When it comes down to it they are then given a hard time for not being able to extend because they need to be back to do the school run. Frames also not ready in the morning either so yet more stress and worry about being done before even leaving the office. The same obviously applies to blokes who need to work around there kids. Seen it all too often since part time contracts became the norm, false advertising.

[Chelseablue]

Leo er lion your just a wind up merchant on here .

[Seymour Buts]

Women in particular not sticking with it.

That will be because when they advertise it sound really good for dropping the kids off and being done for picking them up again. When it comes down to it they are then given a hard time for not being able to extend because they need to be back to do the school run. Frames also not ready in the morning either so yet more stress and worry about being done before even leaving the office. The same obviously applies to blokes who need to work around there kids. Seen it all too often since part time contracts became the norm, false advertising.

You're right, but GOMM is right too in my opinion. Many jack the the job because it's easy to walk straight into another one nowadays. Too many people start this job thinking it's the doddle it was years ago.